Interpreting Life and Death on the C&O Canal'

For historical program, slavery scene is a first

C&O Canal Association volunteer Bud Cline (center) looks on as Bethesda resident Ray Mushal (left) and North Potomac resident Michele Ehlman piece together a set to resemble a mine shaft at Great Falls on Saturday. The work was in preparation for this weekend's 13th annual "Life and Death on the C&O Canal."

Every October, residents flock to Great Falls to watch costumed interpreters weave tales of history, hardship and gore along the canal. From haunted goldmines to mysterious deaths tied to bootlegging operations, organizers of "Life and Death on the C&O Canal"  the largest program put on by the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park  hope to highlight the stories that are central to the county's history.

The event is a historical take on a haunted Halloween walk, and will take place Saturday night against the backdrop of the candlelit canal. But according to organizers and park officials, the area's history is incomplete without one key story.

"Maryland was a slave state, and it's really impossible to tell the history of the area without telling the story of enslavement," said Bill Justice, chief of interpretation at the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. Justice said that the park has uncovered stories indicating slaves worked on land adjacent to the canal, and others that escaping slaves used fords to cross the Potomac on their way north to freedom. "There were a lot of routes that people used to escape north, and I'm sure the canal could very easily have been one of those," Justice said.

This is the first year that Mark Myers, a park ranger who launched "Life and Death" 13 years ago, is including a scene that highlights slavery. The scene is loosely based on a story of slaves from Northern Virginia who were captured just off the towpath after using the canal as an escape route.

Telling the story of slavery along the canal has been a focus for the national park, according to Justice.

"When I found out that was a long-range goal of the park, I decided to incorporate that into Life and Death' and try to educate people about what actually happened on the canal," Myers said. "That's an untold story I think needs to be told."

Myers said that at first, he wasn't sure if he would find interpreters willing to play the parts of escaped slaves and those who captured them. But he soon found volunteers willing to help out.

"I know it from an intellectual and a historic perspective, but reenacting it I think will give me a little bit of a deeper perspective," said Burtonsville resident Janine McGregor, who plays the part of an escaped slave hiding along the towpath who was captured after her child started to cry. "Just that the C&O Canal at that time was a conduit for the Underground Railroad, its like, Wow, it really happened here.'"

McGregor said she didn't have any apprehensions about portraying a slave. "I feel like the more people are aware of what happened in the past, the more they are able to understand what motivates people's actions today," she said.

The focus on slavery comes as local and national historians are marking the 150th anniversary of abolitionist John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, then a part of Virginia. On Oct. 16, 1859, Brown raided a federal arsenal to seize weapons and arm slaves in an ultimate effort to wage a war against slavery. Brown's attempt failed and he was later executed, but many historians mark the event as an important precursor to the Civil War.

This year's "Life and Death" will also highlight the story of John Cook, a spy who tended the lock just across the Potomac from Harper's Ferry and was involved with Brown's raid. Like Brown, Cook was executed after the failed attempt.

This year's performance of "Life and Death on the C&O Canal" will take place 150 years nearly to the day after the historic raid.

"It underscores the need to tell the story," Justice said of the anniversary. "The Civil War was not just about armies on opposite sides of a field. It was about the issues of what this country really stands for."

"Life and Death on the C&O Canal" is slated to take place from 6:30-9 p.m., Saturday, at the Great Falls Tavern, located at 11710 MacArthur Blvd., Potomac. Tours will begin every 15 minutes. Reservations are required. The cost is $6 for adults and $4 for seniors and children. Children 3 and under will receive free admission. To make a reservation, call 301-767-3714. Parental discretion is advised for this event.